When Google answers first started, and for the few years thereafter, most questions would be grabbed and locked by researchers within minutes of the question's posting. But over the last couple of years fewer and fewer questions were locked, meaning fewer and fewer researchers were taking questions. The last six months or so, almost no questions were locked.
So it wasn't that people weren't trying to use the service - people were asking lots of questions but Google didn't keep up the number of researchers they needed to answer the questions. Something happened on the Google end, and I'm not sure what.
At the time, I went to Google answers and asked the question "What happened to all the researchers?" Within half an hour the editors at Google answers removed my question. Their official reason? "We removed this question from the site, and you will not be charged for it, because we just don't feel comfortable charging you for an answer that you could get for free by emailing us at answers-support@google.com".
So I did. I sent them email that asked "What Happened to Google Answers? Where are all the researchers?" and they sent this non-answer back: "Because each Researcher chooses which questions to answer, it is not our policy to speculate on why specific questions have gone unanswered."
To sum up: People were using the service. Google didn't keep up the number of researchers they needed to in order to provide the service. Why they opted to go this route is a mystery.
Slashdot Mirror
When Google answers first started, and for the few years thereafter, most questions would be grabbed and locked by researchers within minutes of the question's posting. But over the last couple of years fewer and fewer questions were locked, meaning fewer and fewer researchers were taking questions. The last six months or so, almost no questions were locked.
So it wasn't that people weren't trying to use the service - people were asking lots of questions but Google didn't keep up the number of researchers they needed to answer the questions. Something happened on the Google end, and I'm not sure what.
At the time, I went to Google answers and asked the question "What happened to all the researchers?" Within half an hour the editors at Google answers removed my question. Their official reason? "We removed this question from the site, and you will not be charged for it, because we just don't feel comfortable charging you for an answer that you could get for free by emailing us at answers-support@google.com".
So I did. I sent them email that asked "What Happened to Google Answers? Where are all the researchers?" and they sent this non-answer back: "Because each Researcher chooses which questions to answer, it is not our policy to speculate on why specific questions have gone unanswered."
To sum up: People were using the service. Google didn't keep up the number of researchers they needed to in order to provide the service. Why they opted to go this route is a mystery.
The weather is public domain. A particular EXPRESSION of the weather is not.
There's nothing special about this. The theory of relativity, for example, is public domain. A book that explains the theory of relativity is not.